Author
Topic: Who did you retire before? (Read 5142 times)

Today I was visiting the web page of my old high school (graduating class of 1995) and I discovered that my Washington State History teacher from freshman year is still teaching there. 26 years after he gave me a B+ when I had mono, I am a retired multimillionaire and he is not. Hi Mr. Brown!

Who did you beat into retirement that you were not expecting would be still showing up at their office after you?

I work at a large fortune 100 company and so many folks here are in their 50's, have a fat pension waiting on them, but didn't save any money. So, they all end up trying to hold on till 65. I plan to retire before all of those fools (around 44). :)

The teacher thing is cool, I'll have to see what teachers are still there that I had :)

I had one boss about a decade ago that suspected I wanted her job. I was her kids' age and she knew I was ambitious and before she hired me as her Deputy, she asked if I thought I'd have her job one day. I said, very honestly, no, that I needed to diversify my experience. But I think part of her always suspected I was after her, while the other half of her leaned heavily on me and appreciated my work as her second in command.

Anyway, she's still in that same job, so there never would have been any time for me to take over for her! I think she truly enjoyed working and certainly had enough money to retire, so she wouldn't be jealous of me beating her. But I find it funny to contemplate what she'd think about having asked me if I wanted to replace her - about her suspicions that I was out for her job! - now having the evidence that I truly never was.

I retired before my mom. One of her good friends has made a bit of a joke about how it's wrong when your kids are retiring before you. However, the financial knowledge I've gained along the way to retirement has directly benefited her, and will hopefully result in a more secure retirement for her. So I feel pretty pretty good about that!

Of all the people I've ever met in my life that I'm somewhat still in contact with, I think I can count the number of retirees on one hand. Probably hundreds of people. And none of them retired early.

When I started as a new associate at my law firm fresh out of law school, there was a partner who sat on my floor who was in his nineties. Officially, he was already retired (probably forced into retirement by the firm's mandatory retirement policy), but that didn't stop him from reporting for duty every day of the week. Now, he's well over 100, but I think he still shows up to his office, even though our age difference alone is probably higher than the ordinary full retirement age.

When I started as a new associate at my law firm fresh out of law school, there was a partner who sat on my floor who was in his nineties. Officially, he was already retired (probably forced into retirement by the firm's mandatory retirement policy), but that didn't stop him from reporting for duty every day of the week. Now, he's well over 100, but I think he still shows up to his office, even though our age difference alone is probably higher than the ordinary full retirement age.

I find that intensely sad. Is there really so little out there in the works that the most meaningful thing a person can do is lawyering? Not to denigrate the profession, but damn.

When I started as a new associate at my law firm fresh out of law school, there was a partner who sat on my floor who was in his nineties. Officially, he was already retired (probably forced into retirement by the firm's mandatory retirement policy), but that didn't stop him from reporting for duty every day of the week. Now, he's well over 100, but I think he still shows up to his office, even though our age difference alone is probably higher than the ordinary full retirement age.

I find that intensely sad. Is there really so little out there in the works that the most meaningful thing a person can do is lawyering? Not to denigrate the profession, but damn.

There is some dang meaningful lawyering going on! Who knows what this guy is doing, but he might be using his time in ways that are of great benefit to society!

Out of curiosity, I went to my HS webpage and found that my favorite teacher is still teaching. He is the one who introduced me to my eventual career field and made the overall subject very interesting. I even thanked him in my dissertation. It saddens me a little that I no longer work but he does.

When I started as a new associate at my law firm fresh out of law school, there was a partner who sat on my floor who was in his nineties. Officially, he was already retired (probably forced into retirement by the firm's mandatory retirement policy), but that didn't stop him from reporting for duty every day of the week. Now, he's well over 100, but I think he still shows up to his office, even though our age difference alone is probably higher than the ordinary full retirement age.

I find that intensely sad. Is there really so little out there in the works that the most meaningful thing a person can do is lawyering? Not to denigrate the profession, but damn.

When I started as a new associate at my law firm fresh out of law school, there was a partner who sat on my floor who was in his nineties. Officially, he was already retired (probably forced into retirement by the firm's mandatory retirement policy), but that didn't stop him from reporting for duty every day of the week. Now, he's well over 100, but I think he still shows up to his office, even though our age difference alone is probably higher than the ordinary full retirement age.

I find that intensely sad. Is there really so little out there in the works that the most meaningful thing a person can do is lawyering? Not to denigrate the profession, but damn.

There is some dang meaningful lawyering going on! Who knows what this guy is doing, but he might be using his time in ways that are of great benefit to society!

This is quite common, in my observation, for lawyers who truly enjoy their field (and those that don't seem to transition out before retirement). Even after "retiring," many lawyers continue to work in some capacity, whether part time, pro bono, mentoring/education, etc.

A prof at a local university kept coming to work, even after it was clear that he was suffering from some mental decline. He came in one weekend and ended up locked in a closet (locked from outside only). Luckily someone found him. He could have died in there.

When I started as a new associate at my law firm fresh out of law school, there was a partner who sat on my floor who was in his nineties.

All of the people who sat on my hiring committee are still working, too.

They are not in their 90s, but they were manager types when I got hired and they're still there. I know that one of them can't retire because he's still paying for private school for his kids, and another can't retire because she just dropped $40k on a flooding problem and now she's broke. The third has since moved to another location for his wife's job, because she makes roughly three times what he does, and I have NO idea why the two of them are still working. They must pull down like a half mil a year between them and yet they are still chugging away at their daily grind, oblivious to the alternatives.

A prof at a local university kept coming to work, even after it was clear that he was suffering from some mental decline. He came in one weekend and ended up locked in a closet (locked from outside only). Luckily someone found him. He could have died in there.

I worked with a famous scientist who used to go to Antarctica every year, and towards the end of his life he had serious mental and physical declines and should NOT have been allowed to run a deep field camp with no medivac. But he was so famous, so revered, that they pretty much let him do whatever he wanted and no one would have blinked if he had died on the ice. It was the life he chose and he loved it, and in the end I think he was kind of sad to die in a warm hospital bed back home. Some people really do want to work right up to the very end.

When I started as a new associate at my law firm fresh out of law school, there was a partner who sat on my floor who was in his nineties. Officially, he was already retired (probably forced into retirement by the firm's mandatory retirement policy), but that didn't stop him from reporting for duty every day of the week. Now, he's well over 100, but I think he still shows up to his office, even though our age difference alone is probably higher than the ordinary full retirement age.

I find that intensely sad. Is there really so little out there in the works that the most meaningful thing a person can do is lawyering? Not to denigrate the profession, but damn.

I think it is very hard for folks that own businesses to leave.

Umm, letís step back and admire that a person who is 100 has the mental acuity to still work an intellectual job and the physical ability to show up at work. At 100. A little less judging and a little more praising.

When I started as a new associate at my law firm fresh out of law school, there was a partner who sat on my floor who was in his nineties. Officially, he was already retired (probably forced into retirement by the firm's mandatory retirement policy), but that didn't stop him from reporting for duty every day of the week. Now, he's well over 100, but I think he still shows up to his office, even though our age difference alone is probably higher than the ordinary full retirement age.

I find that intensely sad. Is there really so little out there in the works that the most meaningful thing a person can do is lawyering? Not to denigrate the profession, but damn.

I think it is very hard for folks that own businesses to leave.

Umm, letís step back and admire that a person who is 100 has the mental acuity to still work an intellectual job and the physical ability to show up at work. At 100. A little less judging and a little more praising.

I think it is very hard for folks that own businesses to leave.[/quote]. My friend owns his own business and has 300 people working for him. He could have retired 2 decades ago but is worried about his employees. He is putting in place a transition plan for employees to buy the company. If he sells the business to an outsider or competitor, he will do even better financially, but there's a chance that product lines will be shut down and people lose their jobs.

What you see on the outside with someone working a long time doesn't necessarily mean that they need to do so. I know many teachers who stay in teaching because they like to be around young people.

. My friend owns his own business and has 300 people working for him. He could have retired 2 decades ago but is worried about his employees. He is putting in place a transition plan for employees to buy the company. If he sells the business to an outsider or competitor, he will do even better financially, but there's a chance that product lines will be shut down and people lose their jobs.

What you see on the outside with someone working a long time doesn't necessarily mean that they need to do so. I know many teachers who stay in teaching because they like to be around young people.

Yep, this is a good example of one reason. I worked for a professor that was DYING, but still trying to write grants to keep people in his group employed. The grants could be transferred / overseen by co-PIs. They may not need to work financially, but need to continue for emotional or other reasons.

Posting to follow. I hope someone chimes in that they retired before a parent.

Not FIREd yet, but I will almost certainly retire before my mom. She actually jokes about it now.

That said, last year when she came to visit we went over her financial situation and I explained to her what she needed to do to become financially secure. I actually think she probably could retire before me (possibly right now), but she's not comfortable with it yet.

By calendar, My mother (30 years older), and my brother(11 years older) beat me. My brother was a great story. Essentially, he saved NOTHING until we paid off our house after 3 1/2 years of ownership. He then started in 1998, and was done by 2012, starting from essentially nothing. I think he saw our success as a wake-up call. ER wasn't even a thing at that time, it was just a plan to save more than we earned without really a plan as to why.

Ha good topic. My (former) boss started as an engineer the month before I was born way back in 1976 . I retired the middle of 2017 and he left at the end of the year. I used to joke that I would retire before him. He didn't believe me until I actually did it.

Ha good topic. My (former) boss started as an engineer the month before I was born way back in 1976 . I retired the middle of 2017 and he left at the end of the year. I used to joke that I would retire before him. He didn't believe me until I actually did it.

And how did he take it when you announced that you really were retiring?

I retired in June. Two much more experienced colleagues retired in September.One was 65ish, the other just a little bit older than me (55???), but with 33 years of same-job experience (basically a plank-owner at the company).

Ha good topic. My (former) boss started as an engineer the month before I was born way back in 1976 . I retired the middle of 2017 and he left at the end of the year. I used to joke that I would retire before him. He didn't believe me until I actually did it.

And how did he take it when you announced that you really were retiring?

He just kind of chuckled with amusement. Co-workers were giving him a bit of crap for it.

My grandfather is 93 and still works 3 days a week. It's unpaid and he works with fellow WWII veterans in Poland who otherwise have no family or social safety net. He "retired" from a traditional career well over 30 years ago.

I retired before anyone I know who was around the same age (42). I do know some military retirees who retired younger than me from military service but they all went back to work in civilian jobs so not really retired overall.

When I started as a new associate at my law firm fresh out of law school, there was a partner who sat on my floor who was in his nineties. Officially, he was already retired (probably forced into retirement by the firm's mandatory retirement policy), but that didn't stop him from reporting for duty every day of the week. Now, he's well over 100, but I think he still shows up to his office, even though our age difference alone is probably higher than the ordinary full retirement age.

I think I have worked at the firm you started atóthere canít be too many 100+ year old practicing attorneys, right? As far as I know, he still comes into the office from time to time and is as sharp as ever.

Not yet retired, but if my father is able to continue to work until he dies (as he plans), I will retire before him. He thinks I'm crazy with my FIRE plans. But I am fairly certain that I already have more saved than he does despite the 30+ year age gap. To each their own I suppose.

For the group of officers I worked with in the DC area, this was considered a very weird thing. The vast majority want that beltway bandit job with a defense contractor to pay for the ridiculous housing costs in northern Virginia. In fact, I only know of one other officer in similar situation who intends to fully retire as well. He's more of a mustachian than I am.

Posting to follow. I hope someone chimes in that they retired before a parent.

I retired last year and both my mom and dad still havenít. Iíve also retired before any of my 11 aunts and uncles and their spouses. None of them are 65 yet, but theyíre getting close. I wasnít able to beat my mother in law though, she was sneaky and retired early!

Posting to follow. I hope someone chimes in that they retired before a parent.

I retired last year and both my mom and dad still haven’t. I’ve also retired before any of my 11 aunts and uncles and their spouses. None of them are 65 yet, but they’re getting close. I wasn’t able to beat my mother in law though, she was sneaky and retired early!

Congratulations! I think you deserve the MMM forums gold star of the day.

Even retiring at the ripe old age of 60, I've retired before all my colleagues. Only 2 are retired ( at 75 and 61). One dropped dead at 55. They all say they can't afford to retire and also in our work culture there's a certain sense of valour of continuing to work on and on.

Amongst aquaintances I know one who retired earlier from ill health and another who retired at 62. A few have made a career change to an encore career and are happier for it, but definitely don't describe themselves as retired.

Teachers have it made, man. Short days, summers off. You never retire from a decent teaching gig. My mom is still teaching at the local elementary school and she's in her 80s. I plan to resume teaching college after I retire. It is fun and rewarding.

Teachers have it made, man. Short days, summers off. You never retire from a decent teaching gig. My mom is still teaching at the local elementary school and she's in her 80s. I plan to resume teaching college after I retire. It is fun and rewarding.

Good for both of you! The world needs as many passionate teachers as possible, even the ones who don't need to work. Especially the ones who don't need to work.

Certainly not close to retired yet, but my wife (27 years old) teaches at the same elementary school she attended, and there are three teachers still teaching who were at the school when my wife was a student there. I know it's rewarding for a lot of teachers, but it's still a bit surreal.